Review of an art show

By Mackenzie David

The opening for the Art and Design Faculty Show on February 7 showcased various faculty artwork at Point Loma Nazarene University. Lael Corbin, a PLNU graduate and now PLNU professor. Corbin has a BA in painting and sculpture from PLNU and a MFA in sculpture from San Diego University.

He spoke about the process of starting a project saying, “I like it when something is making me question faster than I can find answers.”

Corbin said that his grandfather worked at a museum and his grandfather used to ask him what he thought while the two looked at the art together. His grandfather asked many questions and waited for Corbin to give the answers.

Corbin also said that one of his professors at PLNU showed him that “art is a serious study.”

He said that as a student he enjoyed his time at Point Loma and that the art department was a “weird place” for “eccentric” people. He says it was a place that was a “safe haven” for him.

He enjoys “putting out information” and not answers. His piece in the show, called Nest, is part of a larger installment. It features a work table, bird eggs, and various other details. He said that he likes work spaces. His father was a carpenter and influenced this love. He finds these spaces in process simulating. He likes the “not knowing” of these pieces and letting people figure it out.

The show also includes artists such as David Adey and Eugene E. Harris. Harris, who teaches an ART100 course at PLNU, had some of his students come to the show. Gabriel Richardson, a junior global business major, said that he came to the opening because of an assignment in Harris’ class to write up gallery reports.

Richardson said that he really liked the spheres Harris painted. He also liked some other art in the show including a piece with shells and another with drum ceramics. He said that he likes being able to see into the artist’s mind or to see the vision in the artist’s mind.

“It just makes you look at a deeper meaning of artwork,” he said.

Another student of Harris’ also saw the opening. Annika Sood, a writing major, went to the show with her roommate in order to fulfil the same assignment as Richardson.

Corbin’s piece was a little “weird” she said, “but I was definitely intrigued by it.”

She said that all the other things were 2D, while Corbin’s piece “felt really active. There was stuff going on. Something was happening.”

The show was small, but “even in that small group of people,” she said, “you still had a pretty diverse group. All of them use very different materials. They have a diverse subject matter.”

“I feel like art is such an important cultural experience, and I think sometimes we get so focused on academics, we forget that—how important art is in our daily lives as it is because it is what makes life enjoyable. And I feel like taking time to appreciate art for what it is, is really a crucial part of the human experience.”

She says that it is nice seeing Corbin’s success because people often think artist cannot survive or make a living.

“But no these people are successful and they’re doing what they love. And that admirable. And I think that’s encouraging to do what you think you got to do.”

Having not seen any art shows at PLNU before, Sood said that she had not known what to expect. She said it was “cool” to go on opening night because all the artists were there. She thinks everyone else should check it out as well, as long as the show is here.